UH's Ed Oliver named nation's top player by Sports Illustrated

Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver (10) goes through team warmups before an NCAA college football game at TDECU Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (Joe Buvid / For the Houston Chronicle)

Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver (10) goes through team warmups before an NCAA college football game at TDECU Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (Joe Buvid / For the Houston Chronicle)

Photo: Joe Buvid/For The Houston Chronicle

Photo: Joe Buvid/For The Houston Chronicle

Image
1of/7

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 7

Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver (10) goes through team warmups before an NCAA college football game at TDECU Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (Joe Buvid / For the Houston Chronicle)

Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver (10) goes through team warmups before an NCAA college football game at TDECU Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (Joe Buvid / For the Houston Chronicle)

Photo: Joe Buvid/For The Houston Chronicle

UH's Ed Oliver named nation's top player by Sports Illustrated

1 / 7

Back to Gallery

While Ed Oliver waits to see whether he is the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL draft, he's at the top of one list.

Oliver, the University of Houston's two-time consensus All-America defensive tackle, is the nation's top player, according to a list compiled by Sports Illustrated of college football's top 100 players for the 2018 season.

"We've been waiting to unequivocally say 'Ed Oliver is the best player in the country' for two long years, ever since he sacked Baker Mayfield twice in the first game of the 2016 season and it was pointed out that was a true freshman out there, terrorizing Oklahoma and its future Heisman Trophy winner on national television in his college debut," SI wrote. "After two years of watching the 6-3, 290-pound former five-star recruit slice through offensive lines that spent all week worrying about containing him, swim through the backfield with the agility of a cornerback and rip down ballcarriers with one hand, it's clear now that there's no one else like Oliver in the country."

As a sophomore last season, Oliver became the first underclassmen to win the prestigious Outland Trophy and was the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Oliver has 39.5 tackles for loss in 25 career games, which is believed to be the most ever for a player in his first two seasons out of high school.